Thursday, March 18, 2010

So here are a few blocks I made for some quilting bees I am in. I don't remember whose is whose. I took these with my phone and they have been there a while. Which is why the aren't the best photos. They are really simple blocks. Its hard for me to think really big when I see the amount of fabric I get. Okay - its just hard for me to decide.

This one she was going for complicated versus simple. I did little string blocks and lots of white. I think I over did the simple but I didn't have enough fabric to do too much.

This one was a 9 patch block. You sew nine squares together and then cut directly down the middle of the block and the other direction and turn two of the four squares and sew them back together. Kind of ingenious.

The third was do anything you like going along the lines of a quilt she liked. She sent a link to the quilt photo and we just winged it. I added the orange and sent her a little extra to incorporate it into her quilt somewhere so it didn't stand out. I really hated cutting those little mermaids heads in half but I had no choice.

This one is actually the starts of a mini quilt. I hated it so I folded it up and put it away. I know - I should have just finished it - I may have liked it.

So did I tell you I quit my job? I gave my notice last month. I have till June 30th. Its the busiest time of the year and I am the only one that does my job so it would have been very cruel of me to leave any sooner. Plus they take forever to hire so I figured I'd give tons of notice because after June 30th nothing happens until August. So what am I going to do with all my free time? Well, sew of course. Reorganize our house - my hubby and I are getting claustrophobic. We have a very small house and lots of junk. And exercise, I need to get healthier and not working I won't have an excuse, right? We will see how long it takes me before I get bored. My daughter will be in Kindergarten so she won't be around to entertain me. :) Sad, isn't it.

Friday, March 5, 2010

So I signed up for three mini quilt swaps at one time. I know I am a glutton for punishment. I just love doing them so much. So, the first one was for STUD (Swap Till I Drop). The theme was "Love is in the Air" I tried a couple of different things but after I made this I was so pleased with it. It looks so cute. The picture really doesn't give it justice. That's a vintage button in the middle. I was going to make a heart but I thought the button actually looked better. Almost broke my machine putting it on. I was too lazy to hand sew it and it jammed with lots of thread and the mini quilt stuck to the machine. Disaster but I freed it with no injuries.

The Second swap was the Winter Themed Mini Quilt. Its through the quilting bloggers link on the side. I wasn't in the snowy mood. We have had phenomenal weather here and the beautiful black skies with the large moons really inspired me and then I found an article in a really old Quilting Arts magazine that I tried to copy. I, of course, didn't come close but I was pretty happy with it. I hope my swap buddy likes it. She is in the Netherlands with no blog so hopefully she will send me an email when she gets it.My third one was for Doll Quilt Swap 8. My partner really likes saturated colors with a white contrast and I wanted to play with curvy sewing that I learned in the Jean Well's class I took in November. My husband was unimpressed with it but my mom said it looked great and she was impressed with my sewing. Who should I trust? Non sewing hubby who is always brutally honest or my Mom who has years of experience but wants to encourage me? I think I will wait to see what my swap buddy thinks. :)Tonight I am going to start on a mini quilt for myself but using purples and a Kaffe Fasset print. Wish me luck. I hate cutting into fabric with no real idea of what I want to do plus I can't get any more of that fabric until November when the Quilt Show is back in town.

Hope all of you are well and I apologize for my absence. Now I have to turn off my computer before I check my work email. Its a bad habit I have. Really it is!